RAPID RESPONSES
Shorn in the USA
No other developed country permits such neutering of individual shareholder rights? [True owners bear risks and rewards, yesterday] Try the USA. While there are many imperfections in the UK system, in the USA you can have 75 per cent of shareholders vote against a director and they can still go to work the next day, not so in the UK. This is why the UK system is now so broken, bad habits imported from other markets.
Sarah Wilson, CEO, Manifest
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Well-being no fad
I have been following the discussion on well-being in The Forum. On Monday Professor Dennis Hayes questioned “Nannying workers and policing them with tools like attitude surveys and training of their awareness of emotional well-being”. But there is a hard-headed business logic to focusing on employee well-being: the reduced cost of absences from work and greater productivity from employees while at work. Stress is the number one cause of absence from work and addressing this improves the bottom line – which is why businesses are keen to create workplaces in which employees feel valued. Retaining staff produces direct returns. Staff retention is improved by good policies for managing employees and creating a happy and harmonious workplace. Wellbeing and occupational health are sensible business practices, not fads.
Richard Smith, Croner